Blog Recommendation: Overheard in Pittsburgh

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I don’t often highlight a single blog for particular attention. That way, it might mean a little more when I do. Today, I’d like to promote a local favorite of mine, Overheard in Pittsburgh.

In Pittsburgh, this city of college students and work-a-day joes, of arts and beer and unreliable public transportation, it’s hard not to overhear little bits of other people’s lives.

In line at a fast food restaurant, a man yells into his cell phone.

He’s yelling for you.

On the bus, two girls gossiping about a celebrity couple.

They’re gossiping for you.

In class, a professor says something he really oughtn’t.

He’s saying it for you.

Welcome to Overheard in Pittsburgh, a collection of impromptu little public performances, reported and displayed for your enjoyment.

Overheard in Pittsburgh:
We’re not eavesdroppers; we’re attentive listeners.

I’m a big fan of people watching and I see this as a logical extension of that. Sometimes fascinating, always entertaining, it’s worth taking a peek. Whenever I need a giggle, I head to OiP. There’s always some bit of street “wisdom” to brighten my day. 🙂

Update: OiP has moved.

2005 Run Shadyside 5K – My First Race :)

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[runshadyside05.jpg]Today I ran my first race. 🙂 It was the Run Shadyside 5K. I finished in 28:32, so my mile pace was 9:12. It could have been better, but I wasn't disappointed. I learned a few lessons from today. 1) While it was a good idea for me to avoid coffee this morning, and hot chocolate isn't a known diuretic, I ought to limit my fluid intake prior to a race. Running with an uncomfortable bladder is suboptimal, to say the least. 2) I need to pace myself better. My first mile pace was about 30 seconds faster than it should have been. For the Great Race 10K, I'll be keeping pace with Rob of UnSpace. Hopefully, he'll keep me from going faster than 9 minutes/mile for the first half. 3) Though running with the vestiges of a head cold is doable, it's certainly not preferable. 😉

pace.jpg

The image shown is a graph of my mile pace times since I started timing my runs (Open in a separate page to see at full size). I started running to shed some pounds and some fat, but now I'm enjoying the sport itself. It's a great way to push myself. Running faster than other people would be cool, but right now I'm focusing on beating myself. If I only worried about losing weight, I think I'd get discouraged because progress is slow. By setting time and distance goals for myself, I have something with more immediate results to strive for. I'm running the Great Race 10K next weekend and I might run the Pace Race 5K on October 8. If any Pittsburghers know of any races I might be interested in, please let me know.

For some good running advice, check out these UnSpace articles:

5K Race Strategy: A Must-Read
5K & 10K Race Strategy: Preparation
5K & 10K Race Strategy: The Race Course

Mass on September 11

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I know I’m a couple days behind on this, but grad school has been keeping me busy. Anyhow, I just wanted to point out how absolutely perfectly timed the mass readings for September 11 were. Call it coincidence. Call it Divine Providence. It doesn’t matter; either way, there are lessons to be learned from Word given that day.

First Reading: Sirach 27:30 – 28:7, "Anger and wrath, these also are abominations, and the sinful man will possess them."

Psalm: Psalm 103:8,1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."

Second Reading: Romans 14:7-9, "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself."

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35, "Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.’"

Have you forgiven the 9/11 hijackers?

Electronic Leash For Children?

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Back on 8-22-05, it was reported that GPS devices were keeping track of sex offenders. Wouldn’t you know that now minors are being monitored by GPS devices. Parents can know where their son or daughter is, know how fast they’re driving, and when/if they get to class.

We can debate whether this is right or not, but I’d rather connect this to another phenomenon and expand it.

It’s really not surprising that parents are taking advantage of this new technology. This youth generation AKA Echo Boomers, Generation Y, or Millenials is "more protected".

"’Parents feel as if they’re holding onto a piece of Baccarat crystal or something that could somehow shatter at any point,’ says Levine. ‘And so parents really have a sense their kids are fragile. And parents therefore are protecting them, inflating their egos. Massaging them, fighting their battles for them.’ [60 minutes, "The Echo Boomers"]"

This can be explained by the following:

"’Because they came along at a time when we started re-valuing kids. During the ’60s and ’70s, the frontier of reproductive medicine was contraception,’ says Howe. ‘During the ’80s and beyond, it’s been fertility and scouring the world to find orphan kids that we can adopt. …The culture looked down on kids. Now it wants kids; it celebrates them.’" [Ibid]

[If children are valued so much, why is the birth rate in this country still below replacement and why is abortion still so popular? – Funky]

What will happen when each individual has to act make decisions on their own?

"’Sometimes, they don’t know what to do if they’re just left outside and you say, ‘Well, just do something by yourself for a while,” says Howe. ‘They’ll look around stunned. You know, ‘What are we supposed to do now?”" [Ibid]

It’s probably my bias, but isn’t there some worth to just being able to do what you want for a time? Can’t it be better for the family as a whole?

It’s almost as if children have become more important than family relationships, especially between parents. Without being over-scheduled, families can sit down together for meal(s). Family activities that truly get a family to interact can help fulfill everyone’s emotional and even physical needs (interacting with the family).

Further, the parents who can have more time for themselves instead of trucking the children to the plethora of events has to be a good thing. The overall marriage relationship, which is most important within the family, has to be supported in each other.